Tuesday, October 12, 2010

10.12.10 Bee-otch of the Day: Dish Network



 
Name: Dish Network
Age: 14
Occupation: satellite provider
Last Seen: Englewood, CO
Bee-otched For: replacing the rattle with a baby toy
  

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Sometimes, insurance companies - other than GEICO - do make funny TV commercials.

In the latest ad from Travelers Insurance, a rattlesnake is ready to attack a small, innocent rabbit. However, the little bunny begins rollicking in laughter because the snake's rattle is that of a baby's. At the end of the commercial, the announcer talks about how other insurance companies will screw you over after an accident by replacing your car's parts with cheap ones while the snake is shown ashamed.

That to me, is Dish Network.

Tragically, I have Dish because where I'm at, my choices are limited. I'd like to have DirecTV, but I live in a spot where I can't have a dish, plain and simple. I have Dish through a broadband connection. I'd like to have AT&T's U-Verse, but until they come to my area...

End result: I'm paying $85.83 per month for nothing. 

The reason why I'm comparing Dish to the rattlesnake is because right now, Dish is in a feud with Fox and its parent company, News Corporation over carrying Fox's regional sports networks, FX and the National Geographic Channel. In my case, I'm missing out on Fox Sports Detroit, which is the TV home of my Detroit Red Wings.

If you put any Dish Network receiver on channel 430, you'll get a message from Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen claiming that he has made all of his sports channels free for the time being until their conflict with Fox is resolved. However, last Saturday night, I tried to put my receiver on Comcast Sports Chicago to see if I could get the Red Wings/Blackhawks game. Boy, was I wrong. The game was blacked out.
Once again, $85.83 for nothing.

Now, if I want to watch ANY Wings game, 1) I could get a hockey package (yeah, right), 2) I can upgrade my package from the Top 200 package to the Top 250, so I can get Versus (what a joke: Versus on their top tier package... Geez) or 3) just go to the damn bar.

Thing is, I'm working six days a week and I'm tired. I'm already spending a lot of money on a new car that's been a lemon to me so far. It's a shame that my money's going to a company that can't provide to their customers because their CEO - worth $4 billion - is a cheap bastard. So what if Fox (whose CEO's worth $6 billion) wants a 50% increase? Dish Network has 15 million subscribers vs. DirecTV's 20 million.
As a matter of fact, I was watching Undercover Boss on Sunday, and DirecTV's CEO was featured, (sorta) installing a new dish. Guess what? Next to the new dish was an old dish, which was Dish Network's. Watching somebody switching dishes makes me smile. It shows that Dish Network's subscribers aren't happy, and if I could, I would be switching, too.

When billionaires fight, people lose.

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